Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "Space".

So I haven't had a post where I have gotten to nerd out in a while, so now is just as good time as any to show that side of me! Now that I have finished "The Fault in Our Stars" (review posted yesterday), my new leisure project is to begin watching some of the old "Doctor Who" episodes from the 1960s. I knew "Doctor Who" was the longest running science fiction show, but I never realized how many episodes there were! Just looking at the first season, there are 42 (half an hour) episodes! Some of them have actually been lost over time and found recently, but it amazes me that a show like this has lasted as long as it has. I've watched a fair amount today and it is astonishing how much the show has changed through the years. The earlier seasons have more of a wholesome family feeling behind them, but the amount of heart is still there! 

For those who do not know, "Doctor Who" is about an alien who travels throughout time and space in his blue spaceship, the Tardis (Time and Relative Dimension in Space), with [a] human companion[s]. Over the years, they have visited many new and exciting planets, seen remarkable historical events, and of course have faced countless villainous monsters. The show does thrive in a special place of corniness that few shows would even dare approach, but I always enjoy how it discussed the hopes of humanity, the optimism of the future as well as the pride in our past history. Especially seen in the latest episodes, the dialogue is so well written and the creatures they face are straight out of what nightmares are made of. One of my favorite quotes from the current director perfectly sums up what "The Doctor" is all about:

“When they made this particular hero, they didn't give him a gun, they gave him a screwdriver to fix things. They didn't give him a tank or a warship or an x-wing fighter, they gave him a call box from which you can call for help. And the didn't give him a superpower or pointy ears or a heat ray, they gave him an extra heart. They gave him two hearts. And that’s an extraordinary thing; there will never come a time when we don’t need a hero like the doctor.”
- Steven Moffat

Question Time: 
If you had the chance to travel in time and space would you? Where would you go?
Personally I would choose this lifestyle in a heartbeat. Although fictitious, it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and if traveling with The Doctor, there would never be a dull moment! I feel like I would want to see our future before seeing the past or other worlds. Although it wouldn't be leaving much to the imagination, I would be interested to see what we will become far beyond the time I will be alive. Even today there are some inventions I don't even believe, I couldn't image what our founding fathers would think of them! Time sure if a funny thing :) Well it is almost late, but I'm not tired, might work in the office for a little. Goodnight all!

About the video: I have wanted to share this video for a while, but was waiting for the opportune time to fit it in with the theme of the topic. A week ago this video was posted for the "Doctor Who" fans by a group of very talented girls who I have followed for some time now. Since posting this video, they are already up to 604 thousand views and have recently been recognized by various actors from the show as well as BBC America. Just looking at the behind the scenes videos, I am stunned with how hard this team worked for only a seven minute video which was filmed in under a week! Anyways I hope you enjoy it!      

Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "Relax".

So today was one of the most laid back days this whole summer. I was able to finish 'The Fault in Our Stars' and was able to go grocery shopping, take a nap, listen to music, and watch a movie. I know I'm going to have a lot to do once next week comes, so I might as well enjoy the time I have off for now. 

The Fault in Our Stars: For a quick review, I enjoyed reading The Fault in Our Stars. John Green is a talented writer and I'm amazed a 35 year old man could portray the thoughts of a 16 year old girl so well! I liked the book, it was sad, but uplifting at the same time. In many ways I can see how it is one of the more popular books at the moment. The characters were well developed, I laughed a few times because of the situations they came across or what they said, and overall I felt like it was just very real. In the book, they actually discuss another book which ends abruptly and the characters try to track down the author to discover what happens to the characters. John Green actually mentioned in an interview recently that life just doesn't come to a complete conclusion. There are parts which are left unfinished, parts that just continue on in other directions, and sometimes in works of fiction, the remaining of the story is left to the imagination of the reader! Personally I will stick with my action adventure books which move forward in the story a bit faster, but I will probably still enjoy to see the movie once it comes out next week!
My rating: B+  

Reading Rainbow update: As of right now, the kickstarter project is about to reach 3 million dollars funded! I have enjoyed the reaction videos they have posted and look forward to see what new reward packages they come up with next week. They have already announced a new stretch goal of 5 million dollars to reach more classrooms as well as make the website compatible for mobile and android devices. Personally I hope the funds continue to rise past the 5 million mark so they can begin planning to bring this option into public libraries as well! The sky is the limit :)  

Personally I'm not really in the mood to talk about relaxation techniques for the next page, so instead I will answer a few more questions from my question bag!

Question 1: What movie character do you most identify with?
Answer 1: I actually have a list of characters/people I strive to be more like on a daily basis. I think I have mentioned them before in the conference room activity, but if I hadn't here is a quick list of my real/nonreal celebrity role models: Mr Feeny (Boy Meets World), Ellen DeGeneres, David Tennant (Doctor Who), Ms. Frizzle, Walt Disney, Patch Adams, and Robert Downey Jr. in an odd Muppets Christmas special!

Question 2: What can't you live without?
Answer 2: This is an easy one: my family, friends, and computer!

Question 3: If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first?
Answer 3: Probably not the most exciting answer, but I would probably pay off my college loan debt as well as possibly my sisters... I think it would also be cool to maybe hire someone who is tech savy to help me make videos for this page as well as organize the site a little better :)

Well there are plenty more questions to work from, so I might even add a question of the day a few times every week (we'll see). But it is after midnight, so I best to off. Goodnight all!

About the video: Although this video is a bit older, I found it very interesting. Listening to music is one of the best ways to relax, so it is interesting to see that it might even have restorative powers for the older generations. Isn't technology great?!

Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "Peace".

I'm currently in a state of limbo at the moment. Although I am at Piedmont and am doing work-related things, I have technically not started my job yet. So I thought it would be a good idea to enjoy the rest of this peaceful week by picking up a good book. Everywhere I have turned, people have told me that I should read "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. I have really enjoyed John Green's content on YouTube, so I hope to enjoy this book as well. I am currently four chapters into the book and my goal is to finish it before it hits theaters in a week! Let the challenge begin!

As far as "peace" goes, I would like to share a two part story with you. This story is a bit of a religious one, but has also been the main times in my life I have ever felt truly at peace. With things moving at 100 miles an hour, sometimes it's good to just stop for a second and smell the roses. 

Our story begins during my sophomore year in High School. I was attending my second church retreat ever and I was really enjoying the destination! For those that don't know, many Catholic Youth Groups for High School students fall under a program called "Life Teen". Life Teen is usually a very strong program full of fast music, coed retreats, and some really intense soul searching experiences. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that as a teen? Anyways, back to the story. This particular retreat was about breaking the chains of sin and moving back toward God. Looking back, many of the retreats I attended fell under this theme, but this one actually resorted to us getting our hands zip-tied together. In retrospect, this is a little extreme, but I guess we were all safe and it made a lasting impact. 

So while having our hands being tied, we had to reflect on the bonds of sin and were then freed from our bonds and were told to go somewhere in the camp and really think about it some more. Many of my friends decided to all sit in the same room and think, but wanting to get away from any distraction possible, I went to the other side of the camp and found a crystal clear lake with a small dock on it. There was no one in earshot, so I looked up to the heavens and talked to God. I was going through some difficult time and was really struggling with the concept of even the existence of God. I ended up shouting at the top of my lungs, asking where He was. So many people believed in a higher being, but I needed proof. After about an hour, I finally sat down on the dock and everything became very still. Everything was still except for a stork who flew down and landed about five feet away from me. To many, I'm sure this does not feel like too much of a mind-blowing experience, but right at that time, I just felt completely at peace. I knew God was with me, and I knew He was looking out for me.

Part 2: Two years later, I was very excited because my last Life Teen retreat was being hosted at the same campsite where I had my "stork experience." Over the past few years, our group had been using a different site for our big retreats, so it was a comfort to have my last trip be at a place with such a special meaning to me. Throughout the majority of my trip, I tried to find the lake. It wasn't until the morning of my last day when I finally stumbled upon it. The past two years had not been kind to the lake. The dock had sunk into the water, oil spills spread out on the surface of the water, and everything just wasn't nearly as green as I had remembered it. I was going through another difficult time in my life at the time and really did not feel very loved. Of course I had my family to be there for me, but I just wanted more than that. I had broken up with a girlfriend a year or two ago, and things just weren't changing. Once more I shouted up to God asking for an answer. "I know you are there, we talked the last time I was here, but this time I need you to send me a sign to let me know you are there and that I am loved." An hour or so passed and still no stork flew by. The times had obviously changed and I sank to my knees in defeat. (Yes I was very dramatic back then!) About to give up, I began to walk away one last time, but something in the water caught my attention. All of the ugly oil spills in the water had become hearts and once more I was filled with peace. 

I realize there are probably many explanations to argue the interaction with a divine being or even just to question the decision making of a hormone-driven, sleep-deprived, teenager, but these experiences were just what I need to get me through those moments in my life. I will never fully understand them, but I always smile when I think of them. Sometimes the smallest things in life like a stork or a misshapen oil spill can make all the difference. Just something to consider. Goodnight all!

About the video: I mainly wanted to post this video as a followup to yesterday's video. The Reading Rainbow kickstarter program reached their million dollar goal in under 11 hours after posting their project. Currently as I am typing, the project has now exceeded the 2.4 million dollar mark and is still climbing at a rapid rate! Here is the video reaction once they hit 1 million dollars. Enjoy :)        

Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "Listening".

Today I am officially at Piedmont! It is still hard to take it all in. My apartment is still being worked on, so I still kind of feel like I'm back at home with all my my stuff put in a student room. Just looking around at my building, I can already tell there is a lot of work to get done, and I was afraid Piedmont would be more of a place of work than a home. 

It wasn't until tonight that all of that changed. Of course I will still have work to do, but by best advice is just to listen to your surroundings and really listen to your heart on if this is the best place for you. This was the first time I had ever walked around Piedmont at night and it is so beautiful. I have quickly already have found my favorite place on the campus. There is a small marsh off to the side of the campus and a long wooden bridge reaches over the wetlands. The bridge has benches and lights stretched across the entirety of the bridge and it makes it the perfect place to take a nightly stroll. 

The best part of this bridge is the wildlife. Whereas some people may be turned off by this feature, there are hundreds of frogs communicating across the marsh and thousands of fireflies light up the surrounding trees. There are so many fireflies that it looks like many photographs being taking at a major sporting event or something. I don't know what it is, but in that very moment, I knew I was home. I did not have to talk to anyone, I did not have to be doing anything, I just had to listen and be part of such a beautiful nature scene. Sometimes that's all you really need to do in life. Be still and listen for the answer to one of your many questions. Who knows, you might just get your answer :) Goodnight all!


About the video: So this video was released earlier today and it gets me very excited that the kickstarter program has already reached its million dollar goal has has even exceeded 1.3 million in only a day's amount of time being active! It is a bit of a stretch to play this video for a listening post, but for someone who I listened to for many many hours, it is all but fair to listen to his amazing project now...but you don't have to take my word for it :) 

Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "Pause".

Well, I'm just about done packing to head over to Piedmont tomorrow. I'm very excited about the move, and am just very ready to start this new chapter in my life. I came across this quote by Mark Twain earlier today and it really got me thinking about where I am in my life. Although I think it is healthy to be in the know with many cultural norms so you don't face too much stress in your life, I also think it is vital for someone to understand who they are as a person and really follow this drive without stopping yourself and pausing your desires in order to fit into society. Don't get me wrong, a support system will help you through so many challenges in your life and you should never give this up, but also don't forfeit who you are as a person in order to gain that system. I promise there are people out there who are just like you and will get you where you need to be on your own terms, you just need to find them first.

Sometimes it is just the smallest things that people do in order to fit in, that they don't even recognize that they are doing it. For example, it is the social norm to broadcast your triumphs and when you don't feel like you are at 100%, we put on masks in order to continue with your day as if nothing is getting you down. Now the last thing I am telling you is to be a downer and never show a smile at all, but I am asking why is it so bad for us to show our real selves from time to time? There are so many filters placed on social media pictures and videos, why should we also attempt to filter our emotions as if it were a bad thing? I am a person who is not a two dimensional character who only displays a small variety of changes. I am a person who is very complex and should celebrate with all of these twists and turns in my life. It just makes sense.  

About the video:  I started following Rebecca Brown (Beckie0) on YouTube about a year ago. To this day I am still trying to figure out what attracted me to her videos in the first places, but since then, I have learned to really appreciate her vlogging and reflection on topics. Unlike so many people on the internet, she is not afraid to show every type of emotion. Whether it is being happy, sad, frightened, nervous, or confused, she has always been very REAL with her viewers and she has really served as an inspiration to me as I continue toward a possible YouTube video series. I have never met her, nor do I think I may ever meet her since she is in Europe, but I feel as if I know her. It is a very rare display of self that she shows on a weekly basis, and I always look forward to watching her videos. Here is the most recent video of hers where she talks about happiness being something you feel instead of something that you choose. For some, this video might be a bit of a downer and they don't understand my interest in this, but sometimes being able to see the negative raw emotions only makes the positive natural emotions all the more bright. Just something to think about. Goodnight all!